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General Illness Information Common Name: BOILS Medical Term: Furuncles and Carbuncles Description: Hair follicles occasionally get infected. When infected hair follicles separate (form pus) furuncles are formed. Furuncles are cutaneous (skin) abscesses. Carbuncles start as furuncles. Furuncles that extend or bore through the subcutaneous tissues are called carbuncles. These can occur anywhere on the skin, but are most common on neck, face, buttocks, and breasts. Causes: Infection, usually from Staphylococcus…

General Illness Information Common Name: BLEPHARITIS Medical Term: None Specified Description: Infection or inflammation of the margins or edges of the eyelids. It can affect eyelids, eyelashes, meibomian glands (lubricating glands of the eyelid) or conjunctiva (whites of the eyes). Causes: Blepharitis can be cause by the following: Bacterial infection, usually staphylococcal, of the eyelash follicles and the meibomian glands; Allergic reaction (less serious- inflammation only); Body lice (rare). Prevention:…

General Illness Information Common Name: Meningitis, Bacterial Medical Term: None Specified Description: Bacterial infection of the coverings of the brain and spinal cord (the meninges).  May affect any age group, but most severe in infants and elderly. Causes: Many species of bacteria can cause meningitis. 3 species account for 80% of all cases: Meningococcus (Niesseria meningitides). Haemophilus (Haemophilus influenza type B).Pneumococcus (Streptococcus pneumonia). Prevention: Get medical care for treatment of…

General Illness Information Common Name: ARTHRITIS, JUVENILE RHEUMATOID (JRA) Medical Term: None Specified Description: Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis begins before 16 yrs of age. It is a syndrome of unknown cause causing inflammation affecting one or more joints for at least six weeks. Joint inflammation is characterized by swelling, warmth, tenderness, pain on movement, limitation of movement or redness. Starts at age 2-5 years old and often disappears by young adulthood….

General Illness Information Common Name: BED-WETTING Medical Term: Enuresis Description: Involuntary urination during sleep in children 5 years of age or older. It is 3 times more common in boys than in girls. The occurrence of bed-wetting in children is: 15% at age 5, 10% at age 6, 7% at age 8, 3% at age 12, and 1% at age 18. Bed-wetting is usually caused by slow maturation ,but it…

General Illness Information Common Name: ATHEROSCLEROSIS Medical Term: None Specified Description: Atherosclerosis is a condition in which the wall of an artery becomes thick and less elastic due to the accumulation of fatty material under the inner lining of the arterial wall. It is the most important and common cause of hardening of the arteries in which plaque deposits form in the walls of the blood vessels that carry oxygen…

General Illness Information Common Name: ATRIAL FIBRILLATION (AF) Medical Term: None Specified Description: A completely irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia), arising from the hearts upper chamber (atrium), and conducted downwards to the hearts main chambers (ventricles) causing the ventricles to contract faster and less efficiently than normal. Atrial fibrillation is the most frequent form of serious cardiac arrythmia. It’s incidence varies from 1% before age 60 to 20% at age 80. It…

General Illness Information Common Name: BACK PAIN, LOWER Medical Term: None Specified Description: Pain in the lower back usually caused by muscle strain. It is often accompanied by sciatica (pain that radiates from the back to the buttock and down into the legs). Onset of pain may be immediate or occur some hours after exertion or an injury. The symptoms get into a cycle, starting with a muscle spasm, the…

General Illness Information Common Name: ARTHRITIS, INFECTIOUS Medical Term: Septic Arthritis Description: Painful swelling in an inflamed joint resulting from infection in the synovial fluid and the tissues of the joint. Any joint may be involved, but larger joints are more commonly affected. Causes: Infection is mainly caused by bacteria which usually enter the joint through the blood stream. However, a joint can be infected directly if it is contaminated…

General Illness Information Common Name: ASTHMA Medical Term: None Specified Description: Asthma is a chronic disorder with recurrent attacks of wheezing, shortness of breath and cough. Asthma is defined as an inflammatory disorder of the airways characterized by intermittent or persistent symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest tightness, wheezing, sputum production and cough, associated with variable airflow limitation and a variable degree of airway hyperresponsiveness to endogenous or exogenous…